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London skyscraper caught melting cars

A new skyscraper under construction in London is apparently to blame for some mysteriously melting car parts on the city's surrounding streets. The 37-story building at 20 Fenchurch Street, nicknamed the "Walkie Talkie" for how it looks, features a convex side of glass windows that apparently concentrates the sun's rays like a kid with a magnifying glass. Instead of smiting ants, however, the building was caught focusing its sun-sourced laser death beam on an innocent Jaguar XJ parked on Eastcheap street. The intense heat managed to melt a sideview mirror, plastic C-pillar cover and Jaguar emblem (scroll down for an image of the damage).
Fortunately, the construction company, Land Securities, had some scruples and reportedly left a note on the car for its owner reading "Your car's buckled, could you give us a call?" They've also since apologized and agreed to pay for the £946 done - about $1,500 - in damages by their blazing hot building. A joint statement with the Canary Wharf district in which the building's located was also released. In it, the developer acknowledges concerns about the reflected light and says it's looking into the matter. The city has also decided to close a few parking bays that could be in the building's line of fire, so to speak, until a solution can be engineered. Since news of the melting Jag broke, other vehicle owners have also come forward claiming the building, re-nicknamed the "Walkie Scorchie," has damaged their cars, as well.
This isn't the first shiny-new-building-attacks-cars story we've heard - architect Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles was built amidst concern that its polished ribbons of stainless steel were blinding motorists and causing accidents, along with raising the temperatures of nearby buildings with its reflected light. The building's surfaces were later given a matte polish.

Jaguar envisions future without V8 engines

With tighter emissions and fuel economy regulations looming, Jaguar may have to do more than make a small, fuel-efficient hatchback to lower its model range's consumption figures - it also might give up its venerable V8 power, Drive reports. But not anytime soon, says Steven de Ploey, Jaguar's product and marketing director, who recognizes that the V8 can be replaced only by something that offers the same, or better, performance. But he has a word of caution: "We are not wedded to V8s."
In the meantime, de Ploey says there are other ways to reduce emissions. One of the first steps Jaguar could take is to shift away from the use of superchargers, which aren't as good as turbochargers at maintaining efficiency and making power. But he adds that supercharging still is "at the heart of Jaguar's performance proposition," and that the company has addressed the current downsizing trend by "replacing our naturally aspirated V8 with a 3.0-liter supercharged V6."
Consider one of de Ploey's comments on the cancelled C-X75 supercar (pictured) for some clue about Jaguar's future: "Some of the stuff we have already exploited to the extreme in the C-X75 is the kind of thinking for us and is an essential test bed to see how we could evolve from today to something that is sustainable in the future."

Jaguar's latest beast is the 2018 XJR575

Hot off the rear wheels of the insanely quick XE SV Project 8, Jaguar is back with another pumped-up sedan. It's called the XJR575, and although it isn't as extreme as the aforementioned XE, it still packs a version of the company's 5.0-liter supercharged V8 that makes 575 horsepower and 517 pound-feet of torque. According to Jaguar, that will get the full-size luxury sedan to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds on its way to a top speed of 186 mph. There isn't much on the outside to tell this hot-rodded kitty from the regular XJR. The front bumper, rear spoiler, hood vents, and side skirts are all the same as the lower-powered version. It does come standard with black wheels, but they can also be optioned on a normal XJR. There are only a couple of unique points. One of which is the addition of XJR575 badges. The other is the application of a model-specific paint color. Buyers of the XJR575 will have the option to coat their cats in the Satin Corris Gray seen above, or a hue called Velocity Blue. Inside, seats are upholstered in black leather with red stitching. They feature diamond-stitched panels, as well. In the seat backs, the number 575 is embroidered. The sill plates also feature the XJR575 logo. The infotainment gets an upgrade, too, in the form of a bigger 10-inch touchscreen. Jaguar hasn't announced pricing or availability of the XJR575 yet. However, we will likely know soon, as the company will be revealing some updates for the rest of the XJ line-up for the 2018 model year. We expect to get details on pricing and availability at that time. Related Video: